By Prosecutors believe the last messages Kassandra Sweeney sent to her husband before she and her two sons were killed were Snapchat videos of their two young boys, followed by the text, “I hope they make you laugh,” . Less than 10 minutes after the messages were sent, Eric Sweeney, her husband’s then-16-year-old brother, allegedly gunned down the 25-year-old and her sons in her Northfield, , home, the reported. When they were killed the morning of Aug.
3, 2022, Benjamin Sweeney was only four years old, and Mason Sweeney was nearing two years of age. Later that month, Eric was with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of falsifying evidence in connection with the killings. Because of his age, his name was not released at that time.
But early last month, Eric was even though he is still only 17 years old. As a result, prosecutors revealed his identity. According to court records, location data from Kassandra’s phone indicates that it began traveling away from her home at 56 Wethersfield Dr.
down I-93 south just before 11 a. m. , the reported.
About 20 minutes later, , received more messages from her Snapchat account, but they appear to have been from his brother. They reportedly said “Help. It’s Eric.
” A little after 11:20 a. m. , Sean called 911 and asked that an ambulance be sent to his home, the reported.
When asked what had happened, he said “I don’t know … my brother told me someone broke in and killed them all. ” Police found the three victims dead in the home around 11:30 a. m.
, . Their deaths were soon ruled homicides, and the AG’s office revealed that they’d each died of a single gunshot wound. Sean arrived at the scene after investigators, and GPS data from his truck indicated that he hadn’t been in Northfield since 6:30 a.
m. that morning, the reported. Eric, who lived with his brother and his family at the time, arrived at the scene soon after.
The teen told investigators he had been in the basement of the home when he heard yelling from a voice he described as being deep and male, followed by several “pops,” the reported. He then waited for the noise upstairs to cease before leaving the basement, seeing the three victims on the floor in the kitchen, and taking Kassandra’s keys and phone, he reportedly told authorities. At the time, Eric Sweeney told investigators he wasn’t sure if they were alive or dead, the reported.
Sean had previously reported his brother to police in July 2022 citing safety concerns, the reported. The teen had been making strange comments and hiding weapons around the home, Sean told police. Police then met with Eric, and , the reported.
An officer told Sean to notify police again if he had any further safety concerns. After his wife and children were killed, Sean told authorities that Eric’s behavior had become so concerning that the couple had put a lock on their bedroom door, the reported. They were also in the process of getting him removed from their home.
Sean told authorities he owned two handguns, and that he kept them unloaded in a locked safe under his bed, the reported. When investigators located the safe, they found it unlocked and missing one of the guns and a magazine. Authorities found the alleged murder weapon a little over a week after the shooting on the side of the road on I-93 south, the reported.
They allegedly found the key to the gun safe with the keys to the truck Eric had driven away from the scene and discovered gunshot residue on Eric’s hands and the steering wheel of the truck. Prosecutors have yet to provide a motive for the , the reported. One of Eric Sweeney’s lawyer’s declined to comment on the case to the newspaper on Monday.
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From: bostonglobe
URL: https://www.boston.com/news/crime/2023/11/07/new-details-new-hampshire-triple-murder-kassandra-eric-sean-sweeney-northfield-shooting/
